The Dare
by Fear Die Rothaarige
Summary: Her heart stopped beating the day of her sixth birthday.


_**The Dare**_

**By:**

_Fear Die Rothaarige_

Her heart stopped beating the day of her sixth birthday. Her mother had decided that for her only daughters birthday, she would take her to the lake with a group of friends to spend the day splashing around in the water. She never would have guessed how a day that was supposed to be full of fun would end in tragedy.

She had swam off away from everyone on a dare to dive to the bottle of the lake and retrieve a rock. As her sakura blossom hair disappeared under the water, her mother, or any other adult did not notice. They were all caught up in the small talk of slightly drunkenness. The lake was only ten feet deep, so it should not have taken nothing but a few seconds to kick to the bottom and snatch a rock. Yet... After two minutes the first child screamed. It was then that the parents realized things had gone wrong.

It was the birthday girl's father who dived into the water, frantically searching for his child. And with tears in his eyes he held the small body of a six year old girl with sakura blossom hair and skin pale as snow from the depths of the water, limp from lack of life. Around her neck was a thick yellow string that boaters often used to anchor their vessels. The string had broken off of a boat and found its way around her neck while she was underwater. She never stood a chance.

Ten years later, she would have been sixteen. The friends that had gathered at the lake on that fateful summer day stood out on a small floating pier that had been placed there a few years before. They were only five or six when their lives had been changed forever. The memory of that day varied among the group of teenagers.

The bright haired blond with stunning blue eyes remembered how the sun shimmered on the water after they had pulled her body from the water. The pale haired blond with dark eyes remembered how they had laughed and screamed while playing. The raven haired wallflower remembered how she had envied the pink birthday cake. And lastly there was the raven hair boy with dark onyx eyes...

He remembered how he had called the girl a coward, saying she could not swim to the bottom of the lake. Without thinking of what could happen, he dared the pink haired child to swim to the bottom of the lake and bring proof she had made it. It had been the good natured ribbing of this boy that had ultimately caused the death of the birthday girl. He had regretted it ever since she had gone underwater to retrieve the stone.

One by one the teenagers set the flowers they had brought with them into the water and left the floating dock. When the sun finally set the only one that remained with the raven haired boy. He sat with his legs dangling in the water, slowly swishing back and forth as he thought. He thought back to when he had first meet the pink haired beauty. He had been three when their mothers had bumped into one another on the street. As fate would have it, the two women had grown up together on the same street and were long lost friends. They would often find themselves at one of the others house, left to play with each other while the grown women chatted away. Soon they became the best of friends.

The boy sighed and looked to the moon that hung in the sky. More time had passed than he had thought. He knew that his mother would worry about him if he did not come home soon. She worried so much more since the child of her best friend lost her young life one innocent day. With a sigh he reached behind him and grabbed the Tiger Lilly from off the dock. They had been her favorite flower, which few knew. They always assumed that the Sakura blossom would be her favorite because of her name and her hair. He held the delicate flower in his hand before reaching down into the water and letting the flower go, drifting off into the darkness.

With a slight splash he slipped into the water and swam out to the spot where ten years earlier his best friend went underwater a determined young girl, but came up as the shell of who she used to be. He dove down to the bottom of the lake where she had lived her final moments of life. Once his feet touched the muddy bottom, he opened his onyx eyes and through the murky hase, saw a flash of pink. He blinked and focused on the small figure in the water. She was just as he remembered her, bright and full of life. Her sakura pink hair swaying around her shoulders and her bright jade eyes shinning with light. She smiled at him and faded from view in the water.

He stayed underwater for a second more in shock of seeing her in the water. Then with a burning in his lungs he swam towards the surface, breaking the cool surf with a smile on his face.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I did, but sadly... I don't. *Sniffle***

**No idea where this fic came from. I just sat down at my comp, wanting to rp when this idea came to mind and this is what was born. Hope you like it. Please forgive me for any and all mistakes in spelling and grammar.**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Later!**


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